Point of Ayre

The Point of Ayre sits on the Isle of Man’s northerly tip, an 8km stretch of shingle gravely beach and sand dunes, designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) and as a National Nature Reserve.

Dogs are allowed but need to be kept under close control as, depending on the time of your visit you may have nesting birds in protected areas.

The seasonal Visitor Centre houses exhibits and displays portraying the diversity of the wildlife found at the Ayres and a short film illustrates some of the highlights of the surrounding area. The area has marked nature trails leading from the discovery centre along the shingle beach and through the marram dunes and heathland. The site is more than just a remote beach, providing a home to flowering heathland, nesting birds, seals and the dramatic sea all combine to make the Point of Ayre a truly remarkable ever-changing landscape.

An important feature is the Point of Ayre Lighthouse, an active 19th-century lighthouse that was first lit in 1818, making it the oldest operational lighthouse on the island, designed and built by Robert Stevenson, grandfather of prolific writer and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson.

The point has shingle and gravel deposited by the strong currents, this changing landscape forced a smaller light commonly referred to as a ‘winkie’ to be built 750 feet (230 m) to the seaward side of the main tower in 1899. This was then repositioned a further 250 feet (76 m) in the same direction and for the same reasons in 1950. The ‘winkie’ light was discontinued on 7 April 2010.